What $30, $40 and $50 an hour leave after tax in Ontario and BC in 2026
This guide turns three common hourly wages, $30, $40 and $50, into yearly pay and then into take-home pay for 2026 in Ontario and British Columbia. It also answers the usual salary-or-hourly question: does being paid by the hour change how much tax comes off? The figures are for a resident of the province with one job who claims only the basic personal amounts. Quebec is not covered.
The numbers come from the same code as the pay calculator, which follows the CRA T4127 payroll formulas (July 2026 edition). The rates and their sources are on the Sources and rates page.
1. From an hourly wage to a yearly income
The standard conversion is hours per week times weeks per year. A full-time schedule of 40 hours for 52 weeks is 2,080 hours, so $30 an hour is $62,400 a year, $40 is $83,200 and $50 is $104,000. Tax is charged on the year's income, so the yearly figure is the starting point for everything that follows.
2. Ontario
| Ontario | $30 an hour | $40 an hour | $50 an hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income per year (2,080 hours) | $62,400 | $83,200 | $104,000 |
| Federal income tax | $5,803 | $9,872 | $14,122 |
| Provincial income tax | $3,191 | $5,166 | $7,161 |
| CPP and CPP2 | $3,505 | $4,574 | $4,646 |
| EI | $1,017 | $1,123 | $1,123 |
| Take-home pay per year | $48,884 | $62,464 | $76,948 |
| Take-home per hour worked | $23.50 | $30.03 | $36.99 |
| First biweekly paycheck, take-home | $1,880.15 | $2,384.11 | $2,884.76 |
| Share of pay kept | 78.3% | 75.1% | 74% |
Ontario's provincial line includes the Ontario Health Premium and, once basic Ontario tax is high enough, a surtax. CPP2 appears only once income passes $74,600, which happens at the $40 and $50 wages.
3. British Columbia
| British Columbia | $30 an hour | $40 an hour | $50 an hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income per year (2,080 hours) | $62,400 | $83,200 | $104,000 |
| Federal income tax | $5,803 | $9,872 | $14,122 |
| Provincial income tax | $2,741 | $4,267 | $5,924 |
| CPP and CPP2 | $3,505 | $4,574 | $4,646 |
| EI | $1,017 | $1,123 | $1,123 |
| Take-home pay per year | $49,334 | $63,363 | $78,185 |
| Take-home per hour worked | $23.72 | $30.46 | $37.59 |
| First biweekly paycheck, take-home | $1,890.56 | $2,412.07 | $2,925.63 |
| Share of pay kept | 79.1% | 76.2% | 75.2% |
The federal tax and the CPP, CPP2 and EI lines match Ontario to the dollar, because they are national. The difference is the provincial line. At $40 an hour, a worker in British Columbia keeps $899 a year more than a worker in Ontario with the same hours.
The gap grows with the wage: $450 a year at $30 an hour, $899 at $40 and $1,238 at $50. Wages, living costs and the cost of housing differ between the two provinces too, so a higher take-home figure does not by itself make one province the better place to work.
4. Salary or hourly: does it change the tax?
No. Income tax, CPP and EI depend on the income paid, not on how the job is described. An hourly wage of $40 for 2,080 hours and a salary of $83,200 both give an Ontario take-home pay of $62,464.25 a year. What differs is the income itself. An hourly worker is paid for hours worked, and a week without pay lowers the yearly figure, while a salary is the same each pay period.
The table shows the same $40 wage in Ontario under four schedules. The hours change the yearly income, and the tax and take-home pay follow from it.
| Schedule at $40 an hour | Income per year | Take-home pay | Take-home per hour | Share kept |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 hours a week, 52 weeks | $83,200 | $62,464 | $30.03 | 75.1% |
| 37.5 hours a week, 52 weeks | $78,000 | $58,952 | $30.23 | 75.6% |
| 40 hours a week, 50 paid weeks | $80,000 | $60,303 | $30.15 | 75.4% |
| 30 hours a week, 52 weeks | $62,400 | $48,884 | $31.34 | 78.3% |
The take-home per hour figure is a little different in each row because a lower yearly income puts less of the pay in the higher brackets. It is not a flat percentage of the wage.
5. What an extra $1,000 is worth
At $83,200 a year, an extra $1,000 of income adds $675.36 to take-home pay in Ontario and $689.28 in British Columbia. The rest goes to federal tax, provincial tax and CPP2. EI has already reached its maximum at this income, so it takes nothing. This is the number to use when you weigh extra shifts: the money you keep is less than the wage, and by a different amount at each income level.
6. Comparing an hourly offer with a salary offer
To compare offers, convert the salary to an hourly figure by dividing by 2,080. A salary of $80,000 is $38.46 an hour. In Ontario it leaves $60,303 a year, against $62,464 for $40 an hour, a difference of $2,161 in take-home pay for $3,200 more income. Compare take-home pay rather than the gross figure, because the tax on the last dollars of income is higher than the tax on the first.
The same effect shows up between wages. Moving from $30 to $40 an hour adds $20,800 of income and $13,580 of take-home pay in Ontario, which is 65.3% of the raise. Moving from $40 to $50 adds $20,800 of income and $14,483 of take-home pay, which is 69.6%.
7. Paychecks are not twelve even slices
A biweekly paycheck is calculated from that period's pay, and the year's CPP and EI maximums are applied as they are reached. At $40 an hour the first biweekly paycheck in Ontario is $2,384.11. The yearly take-home divided by 26 is $2,402.47. The rows above use the yearly method, so they do not match a single paycheck exactly.
8. Quick rules
- Multiply an hourly wage by 2,080 for a full-time year, or use hours per week times 52 for any other schedule.
- Compare take-home pay, not gross pay, when two offers are close.
- Unpaid weeks lower the income, not the hourly rate, and the tax follows the income.
- CPP, CPP2 and EI stop at their yearly maximums, so they take a smaller share of high incomes.
9. What is not included
- Overtime pay rules, vacation pay and statutory holiday pay.
- Tax credits beyond the basic personal amounts, RRSP deductions and other income.
- Union dues, benefit premiums and workplace pension contributions.
- Quebec. The other provinces and territories are in the calculator.
A calculator is a good guide to the size of your pay, not a replacement for your pay stub. For decisions that matter, check the figures with the CRA or a tax professional.
Work out your own take-home paySources
- CRA: T4127 Payroll Deductions Formulas, 123rd edition (July 1, 2026)
- CRA: T4127 Payroll Deductions Formulas, 122nd edition (January 1, 2026)
- CRA: T4127 Table 8.3, CPP contribution rates, maximums and exemptions (2026)
- CRA: T4127 Table 8.7, EI premium rate and maximums (2026)
- Every rate used, with its source and check date: Sources and rates
This calculator is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. It uses the CRA and Ontario pages listed on the Sources page, and your pay stub, employment contract or tax return may differ. Rates as at November 1, 2026.